A Writer's Work (is never done)

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Monthly Archives: July 2014

I’ve watched Sex and the City a lot. More than I should probably admit to if I want anyone to take me seriously… but in doing so, I’ve thought a lot about the characters’ situations and other aspects of the show that I’d expect most people would just dismiss or accept without really thinking too much about it. The other day I was watching an episode and had a certain thought about Carrie’s career.

I have seen comments in various places regarding how ridiculous it is that she can make enough money writing a once-weekly newspaper column to afford a nice apartment and support the lifestyle of constantly eating out and 100 pairs of shoes that cost $500. This is true, and I can respond to this by saying that maybe they should have worked a little harder to explain how this is possible, but the whole show is about people who live a glamorous, fantasy life, so it all fits.

My point is actually quite unrelated to this. I’ve determined that due to the blogging platforms of the internet, Carrie’s job would actually be much less secure these days.

I’m not just talking about the demise of print journalism, but the actual content of her columns. Supposedly, her success with the column and the reason it did well in book form was because she was writing openly and (pretty much) honestly about topics that were otherwise still hard to find elsewhere. She was unique, and maybe opened doors for more honest conversation on the often taboo details of sex and relationships.

These days you can find this everywhere. Granted, you might have to encounter some dumb, poorly written material in order to actually find the good stuff, and you’re more than likely to encounter pornographic sites if you choose to google certain terms, but the internet has made it possible to have access to essentially all information. There are sites like xoJane and Jezebel that frequently feature articles about sexual or personal topics that Carrie Bradshaw might have covered, and Cracked.com that presents its information with a lot of satire, sarcasm, and other approaches to humor. I would have to say, though, that blogging sites like WordPress are one of the main reasons for this explosion of honest personal writing. It allows anyone to publish anything, without having to be accepted by a publisher or a magazine or online journal or any of the more traditional (or perhaps neo-traditional?) channels, and many of them allow writers to remain anonymous. This, I’m sure, prompts more people to upload posts about subjects that embarrass them, or that they don’t want associated with their name for other reasons, and that may be very important to someone who ends up reading them.

This is bad for Carrie Bradshaw (who is fictional, so that’s ok), but good for us in general. It is my personal wish that people would learn the basics of grammar and sentence structure and not flood the internet with such atrocities of illiteracy. Leaving that aside, I think that honest communication is extremely important. In personal writing–autobiographical or opinion-based–it makes pieces better. I’m not sure if it’s harder or easier these days to make a living off this type of writing, but I’m guessing not the type of living that would allow you to spend thousands on shoes and clothes every month. The main reason I have not tried to test this by experience yet is that, anonymous or not, it is so difficult to put your private self out there for strangers or close friends and family to read. I hope I can find the guts for this one day.

A long time ago I posted about having lost all the editing I did on a collection of stories. I had worked hard on the original versions, which I still had, but it was probably the most effort I had ever put into editing any of my creative work, and then I lost the files! …or did I?

By the definition of “lost,” yes, I did lose the work, because I could not find those files. But perhaps misplaced is a better term–because I think I’ve found the missing files.

I was looking through my external hard drive files and I saw there, finally, another file of these same stories. It was a larger file, indicating a fairly substantial number of pages, and it was saved in April of 2010, which is right around the last time I remember having that lost thumb drive. To satisfy my curiosity, I opened the file and had a quick look through it.

1. It has all five stories. I had been looking for them separately whenever I searched before, for whatever reason not considering that I had probably saved them all into one file.

2. The original files had preliminary titles for each story, but this one has the final titles. (Final, but with room for adjustment if I come up with something better.)

I have not yet looked carefully enough to confirm that this IS the file I’ve been looking for, but all signs point to yes! What a mood booster. I had the intention of sending this collection out to publishers, but got so discouraged at the thought of doing the first round of revisions again that I just put it off… and off… and off… and haven’t looked at it since. Time to dust it off. That’s a great conclusion to a Friday!

~

By now you might be wondering, unless you were here back then, what the story’s about. It was an independent study project from my college years, a joining of mythologies from various traditions all pulled together through the life of the Hindu god Krishna. I’ve always been fascinated by mythology and I loved writing these stories. One of the main comments I have gotten on this work is that the stories could be worked into each other a little better, so I will make an attempt to do that. I’ve also been told my female characters aren’t strong enough, which is odd, because I’m female–but not so odd, because it reflects the way female characters have been represented in much of the literature I’ve read. And I’m a feminist, too. MUST WRITE STRONGER WOMEN….

A while ago I read (or, more accurately, skimmed) an article about an app that could train you to read a novel in 90 minutes. On the one hand I thought, “Wow, that’s impressive.” (I’m sure it’s not, to some people.) On the other hand, it made me feel … disappointed is the best word I can come up with. Disappointed that this is how people view reading, as something that should be done as quickly as possible, or else it’s a waste of time.

I understand the appeal of reading a book that quickly, as there are so many books out there I want to read, and I know there will be more, that it would be beneficial in that sense to be able to get through a book in 90 minutes. I could greatly increase my number of total books read, broaden my reading experience, etc.

But both as a reader and as a writer, this emphasis on speed-reading bothers me.

There have been times, particularly in college, when reading a little faster was necessary. I’m not arguing that you should never read quickly just to finish a book, if it’s required for your school or work to do so. But other than that, if you’re reading for pleasure, why would you be in such a hurry to be finished? If I choose to read a book, not for any assignment but because I think I will find it interesting or enjoyable, I like to spend time with it. A book is a great place to be, better, sometimes, than the real world. Particularly in very engaging books, I don’t want to rush through that world. But if I start speed-reading, then slower reading would be hard to go back to.

Then, of course, I consider speed-reading from the point of view of a writer–more specifically, a writer who intends to publish novels. Any serious writer will spend a lot of time and effort creating the content you’re reading, wanting to craft something readers will find worth their time. If I spend a year on a book (drafting, revising, etc.), I don’t want someone to pick it up only to toss it aside in an hour or two. Although real writers write for themselves, they also write for readers, and the thought that something created with care is worth only the smallest fraction of someone’s time is discouraging. There would likely be many writers who understandably reason that they should not put so much effort into their work if the people enjoying the final product are not going to appreciate it properly.

I am against this notion that a “solution” is needed to read novels faster. Internet articles? Yes, read them as fast as you can, particularly the ones that seem like they were written in ten minutes. Or even this one, which should certainly not take you longer than that to read… you’ll get the idea. But a story that someone has taken the care to craft so that they can be proud of it? Spend a little time with it. Don’t be so scared of books.

Dutch Pinup Girl that was born in the wrong time. Lover of fifties and fourties vintage and reproduction clothing, with a slight dress addiction. Taking on the world with petticoats, red lipstick and pretty dresses.